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The front end of my car is riding too high (both sides) and has been for some time. When I start the car the 'air suspension fault' light comes on the dash after a couple of minutes of driving. The ride is dog hard and the car smashes over speed bumps and potholes. The rear of the car seems to be at the correct level.
I replaced the air suspension compressor two years ago (Wabco).
I have replaced the (single, passenger side - RHD) front ride height sensor, and the supporting brackets (both sides). The front of the car has not lowered.
How can I lower the front of the car?
Two options I am considering:
1) Letting air out of both front sides of the car by loosening the connections to the valve block in the boot - with the battery disconnected. I would expect the front of the car to drop - but when I reconnect the battery and start the car again, I would half expect the front end of the car to rise again to its original too-high position.
2) Recalibrating the air suspension via SDD. I do own a (cheap Aliexpress) Mongoose cable. I have a decent amount of IT technical expertise - I previously ran VIDA on a Windows XP virtual machine to configure my old Volvo. Where can I find this SDD software? What version do I need? Would I need to keep a constant power supply to the battery while I'm configuring the air suspension - with the ignition key at position II?
Or am I barking up the wrong tree entirely?
Some advice would be massively appreciated. My wife is at the end of her tether with being thrown around over the bumps we have in South London!
A couple of photos attached showing the car's height when parked, and how I've fitted the ride height sensor (I'm assuming I haven't fitted it the wrong way round!).
Calibrate it with SDD, version is not important, find one matching to your OS. Feed up your accu firs, PS in this procecdure is not neccesary, most time it goes with engine running anyway.
It might b ncessary to deflate and inflate th system bfore doing the height calibration, but there is no nd to use option 1, as also this can be done via SDD.
I had to do this when I needed to replace one of the rear height sensors on my car. After the replacement it was impossible to calibrate the height because SDD told me that the car was outside the calibration range (both rear shocks were inflated to maximum height and the car had the dog hard ride you have), but once I discharged and recharged the system with SDD, it worked fine.
As far as I know, it does not run on Win10, but it is one of the latest versions current at the time of our cars. The ones mostly used for our cars are IDS V125 to SDD V131.
Yes, very good source, there is v165 version available for 10 Pro also with installation guide but personally, I'd like to try one of these off line older versions running on VM or even IDS.
Last edited by PeterX358; Jan 22, 2025 at 03:17 PM.
I have installed JLR SDD v164 on my Windows 10 Professional laptop.
I have registered for an individual user account for Topix and can log in and access documentation for my X358.
I open SDD via the Windows Start menu. This opens a Microsoft Edge browser prompting me to enter a login option - either Authorised Repairers or Independent Operators. I select Independent Operators.
I then enter my Topix username and password in the Edge browser. This returns an error message saying 'User has no valid document diagnostic subscription to use SDD/Pathfinder.'
Do I really need to purchase an Independent Module Programming subscription for 74.40 GBP for a single hour just to recalibrate my air suspension?!
The amount of money I'm throwing at this, I might as well have just purchased coilovers...!
Is there a simple/free workaround which I'm just missing?
Also, can I run the ride height calibration with the engine running (to avoid battery drain), or will SDD just tell me what to do?
Some further digging has suggested I need an offline patch for JLR SDD v164.
Do I have it already? What exactly is this patch called, and is there a procedure for installing it?
Originally Posted by lobster940
Hi - I'm probably being an idiot here.
I have installed JLR SDD v164 on my Windows 10 Professional laptop.
I have registered for an individual user account for Topix and can log in and access documentation for my X358.
I open SDD via the Windows Start menu. This opens a Microsoft Edge browser prompting me to enter a login option - either Authorised Repairers or Independent Operators. I select Independent Operators.
I then enter my Topix username and password in the Edge browser. This returns an error message saying 'User has no valid document diagnostic subscription to use SDD/Pathfinder.'
Do I really need to purchase an Independent Module Programming subscription for 74.40 GBP for a single hour just to recalibrate my air suspension?!
The amount of money I'm throwing at this, I might as well have just purchased coilovers...!
Is there a simple/free workaround which I'm just missing?
Also, can I run the ride height calibration with the engine running (to avoid battery drain), or will SDD just tell me what to do?
Unfortunately, I cannot help you with the patch issue. I have dedicated an older laptop for running SDD with a virtual XP machine,and do not need any patches or updates.
Why don't you buy a full version of SDD, instead of a subscription? If you look on Internet, you will find enough sources for buying a full version. If you want to keep the car, you will be happy to have SDD ready at your disposal.
SDD will take you through the calibration process step by step, including telling you when to switch on and of the ignition, or when to start or shut off the engine.
But, there is no way that you will avoid the drainage of the battery. Please be aware that for using SDD you will need a stabilized power supply, capable of supplying at least 50A at 13.8V. A simple battery charger will not be suitable for the job.
I have SDD 165 running and connected to my vehicle via the Mongoose cable.
The top level screen I see is here:
I cannot find the ride height calibration controls anywhere in the menus.
I click on Service Functions. This takes me to a page where my module status is detected. I'm assuming ARM is Air Suspension Ride Module. I cannot see any calibration functions available when I click on ARM.
I then go back to the top level and try to click on Diagnostics. The user journey i take is along the lines of Chassis > Suspension > Dynamic Ride Suspension (??) > Won't Lower. Then I get a Data Collection Error screen - like this.
"ARM" cannot be the air suspension module, as it is labeled "optional" and air suspension was standard on all X30-X358s.
The correct abbreviation/acronym is "ASM" for the air suspension module.
Apart from this, what you show is exactly why I preferably use V125, and not a newr version. V125 is much more user friendly, but I would also search under "service functions" for the calibration.
Why won't my X358 lower?
